DACA, Bangladesh –
The Bangladeshi government and various humanitarian agencies began vaccinating Rohingya refugees on Tuesday, amid a spike in the virus that posed risks in large, crowded camps hosting more than a million people who fled Myanmar.
The contagious delta variant of the virus fuels a boom in cases across Bangladesh. In Cox’s Bazar district, where the 34 refugee camps are located, there have been some 200,000 infections and 200 deaths so far.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies noted that the positivity rate, around 30%, indicates that the prevalence of COVID-19 is much higher, especially given the overcrowding and risks faced by many of the those who live in the camps.
Bangladesh has reported more than 1.3 million cases, including 22,897 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Experts say that the total number could be higher because many people do not go to the hospital and many others die before being tested. In the regions of the country that border India, the infections of the delta variant have multiplied, and it is feared that the lack of awareness about masks and other health recommendations could aggravate the situation.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled in 2017 from Myanmar, a country with a Buddhist majority, for a harsh military campaign against the ethnic group following an insurgent attack. Other Rohingya lived in refugee camps in Bangladesh from previous persecution campaigns.
The United Nations and international rights groups described the 2017 campaign as ethnic cleansing. Although Bangladesh and Myanmar have tried to organize repatriations, the refugees are too afraid to return home.
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